News Bits number 7

After a long absence of nearly three months, news bits is back! Bringing you what the big media outlets might've missed. Here's what's been going on in the world.

Distant Dwarf Planet?

 

A few weeks ago astronomer Scott Shepard was observing the solar system and came across a dwarf planet three times further away from the sun than Pluto. So this could be an insight to the outer solar system, as long as the orbit of this planet (designated a remarkably unique name of V774104) stays away from the sun. It will take about a year to determine the orbit of this newly found planet and whether it will be insight to the outer solar system. Whether you're into astrology or not I would think it's a very interesting discovery for the whole scientific community.

No Tips at Joe's Crab Shack

At select locations Joe's Crab Shack is testing out a new model of pay for their servers. They will start paying them a decent wage and will no longer require the patrons to "tip their waitress". While there are arguments in favor and against this, I personally think it's a great idea. I have always seen tipping as us, the consumer, paying the restaurant's employees instead of the restaurant taking responsibility for the people they hire with a proper wage. Yes the prices will slightly increase, but of course that's bound to happen when there are more expenses, in any business model. I only hope that this will be adapted by more and more restaurants in the coming years and pay the hard worker of the food service industry a fair wage.

The Passing of the Fifth Beatle

 

Andy White, 85, passed away on Monday from a stroke he suffered on Thursday. He was known as the fabled "fifth Beatle" for playing the drums on "Love Me Do". Even though he was on only one single, right before Starr took the position as the permanent drummer, he still carried the nickname and will forever be known as such. He played drums as a session musician in various other artist's hits. He passed in his New Jersey home. Mr. White, Rest in peace.

And on that somber note ends the seventh news bits.

National CAT Day

This is an actual national "holiday". I've gone over these "holidays" before and covered national reptile day. But on this day, every year,  is national cat day. Maybe it's just me but I absolutely love cats (and from being on the internet I know it's certainly not just me) and this day excites me. I have two beautiful cats and this is just another reason to love them even more today.

I have Kitty (like Hello Kitty) who has been with me since she was a kitten in 2002. She is a beautiful cat that I have yet to see another of with the exact markings. She is a wonderful, fun and loving cat which I am lucky to be able to call mine.

Her Majesty

The other is a newer addition to the family, Sasha. We found her in my parent's backyard, skinny as runway model, the poor thing. She had a tattered pink collar on and was as sweet as can be. After a visit to the vet and having a clean bill of health we tried to find a home for her but to no avail. So, fortuitously, we kept her and are so thankful that we did. She is the most laid back cat I've ever seen and that's saying something.

This was her on the day we found her

They are my wonderful and beautiful girls and I am very lucky to have them in my life. So today is National Cat Day and they are going to know it!

Dismantled

I have always heard it said that life gets in the way and if I am completely honest I truly was too young to understand that, until now.

If it's not one thing it's another, something will get in the way of doing the things you love. It's like that for most people that live in the real world. Most people can't just drop everything and pursue their passions and make a living that way. There are a handful of people who have gone down in history for doing the things they loved. Whether it be a leader, an artist or fighting for something they believe will make the world a better place.

Although history is not always kind to those it deems are on the "wrong side". The winners will always be the ones to write history and the losers will be deemed evil. It is the way it works and the way it will continue to work for the foreseeable future.

And in case you didn't know what a "train of thought" was, here is a perfect example. I started out saying life gets in the way and ended up talking about the writers of our history.

Whatever, rant over. Case in point, I'm back.

Mustang Cold Air Intake

Another little update on my on going project, I put on a cold air intake on my Mustang. It was a cheap upgrade and installation was insanely simple. It looks pretty good under the hood and not to mention there's a significant improvement in throttle response.

1998 Mustang GT High Idle Problem and Solution

On a nice spring day a little while back I was in my car with my sister dropping her off at my parents house when all of a sudden my car, which was stopped at a light, started idling at about 2,500 RPM's. I brought it to my garage and hoped it was only a fluke.

Next time I started the car it did the same thing. So I went online to see what the problem might be. I found it could be the Idle Air Control valve or the Throttle Position Sensor. I changed out the IAC valve and the problem remained.

Firefly 2015

I went to the Firefly Festival held in Dover, Delaware from June 18th to the 21st, and let me tell you it was a blast. Everybody from Sir Paul McCartney to the DJs playing in between sets was fabulous. The atmosphere was, for the lack of a better word, chill. A very relaxed ambiance coupled with the tunes from the over 130 performers that were there made from a fantastic four days.

An estimated 90,000 people showed up, and let me tell you, you most definitely could tell there were that many people there. The crowds were enormous, especially on Friday when McCartney was scheduled to play.

It had rained the night before and Thursday was a very cool and cloudy day so when the bands began playing there was mud everywhere. It is held in the Woodlands behind Dover Downs and the Dover International Speedway. I wore my boots and was fine, but if you wore anything open toed, you were S.O.L.

It was a great time and recommend it to anyone deciding whether or not to come next year. If you have the money, buy the weekend passes when they go on sale (which should be soon). That's what I did and figured if I didn't like who was playing I could always sell them. It sure worked!

News Bits number 6

Another taste of what the news held recently.

Sir Christopher Lee Passes

News Bits number 5

Time for another bit of news from around the globe

FIFA Scandal

Boredom

The first use of the word boredom in print was in 1852 by the great Charles Dickens. He gave that feeling we get from time to time when all of our surroundings no longer stimulate us a name. I don't know if it's because of what we have available to us today but I could see how someone over a hundred and fifty years ago could quickly grow bored with what is in their immediate surroundings.
But now?

News Bits number 4

Another news morsel-filled post today! Starting off with the passing of a legend.

The King of Blues

Extremists

To believe in something with all your heart and soul is usually not considered a negative thing. Not unless you take it to extremes.

4/20 - Top 10 Songs About Drugs

Today is a day stoners rejoice. If you are unaware, April 20th has become a day for the consumption of cannabis around the US. It began in San Rafael, California where a group of people calling themselves the "waldos" went looking for a supposed abandoned crop of cannabis in 1971. They were to meet everyday at 4:20 and their story was picked up by a journalist of High Times (give you two guesses what the magazine was about). Ever since then, with the help of Grateful Dead fans who were also linked with San Rafael, the number 420 has been intertwined with cannabis culture.

In light of this fact, I have compiled a list of songs referencing drugs and out of them all I give you the Top 10.

98 GT Mustang Update

 In case you didn't know, I am restoring my 98 Mustang GT. Here's how it's going.

So if it wasn't one thing it was another. The clutch was put on wrong. The whole thing had to be taken apart and the clutch cable adjusted. Fun. Then there was a coolant leak. Turns out it was one of the plugs, but the best part was its location, it was in the back of the motor and the transmission had to be taken out to get to it, or you could partially take out the motor. More fun.

Afterwards I changed the oil, no problems. Then changed the spark plugs, ran into some trouble there.

Titanic 103rd Anniversary

On April 16th, 1912 the headlines would read "Titanic Sinks," because in the early morning of this day, 103 years ago the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. I hope that my readers knew the Titanic was a real ship that launched in 1911 and sank a year later on its maiden voyage, because believe it or not there are many that did not.

Yeah, this is a thing apparently.

Well at the time of this writing there was nothing more to add than what we already knew from research and recreations of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Speaking of recreations, the people above know of the Titanic as a movie, a movie of which the general consensus is a great love story. Well I'm here to say otherwise.

Spring?

Well Spring is finally here, rainy days and the temperature is climbing, slowly but surely. I recently bought a motorcycle and the weather has been decent enough to ride.

Might also be going to Six Flags in Jackson, NJ, the start of theme park season.

Hiking and driving my nice car and bike are on the horizon. 

Here's to better weather and upcoming summer.

News Bits number 3

Today is the Spring Equinox, marking it the first day of spring, and here in Delaware it is snowing... Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of Spring snowfall isn't the first thing to pop in my mind. Maybe melting snow, sure that's acceptable, but fresh big chunks of snow falling and making the roads slippery is a whole other story. Well, it is what it is here in Delaware.

Another day, another week, another News Bits.

2022 World Cup

News Bits number 2

Another week rolls around and a fresh bit of news comes along with it.

Japanese Stabbing Spree

 

The Month of March

In the US March marks the end of Black History month and begins Women's History month. There are so many festivals and holidays in this month, I wouldn't b e able to name them all. But here are some.

Doesn't get much more 'Merican than this

News Bits number 1

I often read, hear or see news stories that are quite interesting and I feel I would like to share - so I came up with my new series News Bits. Here goes the fist one.

HIV Compound

I'm sure, unless you've been a recluse for the past thirty years (in that case how are you even reading this? I didn't think they had a signal way out there in the middle of nowhere) you've heard of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or the syndrome it causes, HIV and AIDS. Well there has been a breakthrough in a compound they have been experimenting with that shows very promising results.

Wednesday Update - Mars

If you hadn't yet heard, there is a private organization, Mars One, looking to send the first colonists to Mars in just ten years time. Think about that. In 2025 four people out of 200,000 that applied will be sent to colonize Mars for the human race. What makes it intriguing or horrifying, depending on your stance, is that it is a one way trip. They will live out the rest of their lives on this planet that is 140 million miles away. They will never see their loved ones again or have a chance to raise a family - yeah didn't you hear? There is no sex allowed between these pioneers of space.

Delaware, Oh Delaware

Maybe you've heard about the epic amounts of snow in New England, the northwest part of the country, maybe you haven't. Either way, now you know that these past few weeks there have been people literally digging out their cars from the snow.

Not an exaggeration

Downhill Hollywood

Reboots, Remakes and Sequels to decades old movies. That's pretty much all Hollywood is churning out these days, and what's worse - people are actually spending money on these franchises.

Top 10 Disney Villain Songs

I was recently talking with a friend of mine about the Jungle Book and how they are actually making another one that is to be released in 2016. This really got me to thinking about Disney villains and the songs that they sing. So I have come up with this, my list of the Top Ten Disney Villain Songs. For this list I will exclude any other entities owned by Disney, such as Pixar, and stick to the classic animated movies. Also, the song must be sung by said villain.

Without further ado here are my Top 10:

New Year Rant

I must be more diligent in posting on here, I must resume my workout schedule, carbs must again be the enemy and I have to get my s#!t together overall. There is a lot to accomplish in this ever fading year. With each day that passes there is less time to accomplish everything I would like to. Writing, music, my car, all of it must be balanced and with work and the time managed properly with priorities set. Adult life is not like my seven year old self believed, things rarely are.

2015

It is a new year. Many new and exciting, as well as somber, things will occur this year. No one really knows what the future holds for anyone of us but we can sure try and make this a year to remember. Just keep in mind that sitting and waiting for life to happen is a great way to make your life go by without a single memorable thing happening.

Are you spontaneous? Or do you like making plans and knowing where your future is headed? Which ever you are, just keep in mind that sometimes life happens as you make plans. And sometimes making rash decisions isn't the best choice. Just live each day to its fullest as best you can and make everyday count.